This blog was created as a place to put pieces of my family histories as I find them. The goal is to make a story of each ancestor. THIS INFORMATION IS NOT DOCUMENTED NOR VERIFIED. IT IS JUST A PLACE TO PUT INFORMATION UNTIL IT HAS BEEN RESEARCHED FURTHER. PLEASE DO NOT QUOTE IT AS FACT.
If anyone reading this blog has any pictures, stories, etc., that they would be willing to share with other family members, I would be happy to add them.

Isaac DanfordBickmore was born 24 September 1838 in Brown County, Illinois. The third child in a family of seven.

His father, Isaac Motor Bickmore, was born in New Bedford, Maine, about the year 1798. He emigrated to Illinois in early manhood and soon after married Martha Harvel who had emigrated from North Carolina, her native state, a few years previous.

They settled on a farm and were comfortable circumstances when Isaac Danford was born. Eight years later they sold their home in Illinois and moved to Des Moines County, Iowa. But not being satisfied with the later place, they again moved and located on a farm in Potawatomic County where they resided about three years.

Here his wife, Martha HarvelBickmore was converted and became a member of the Mormon Church of which her husband had been a member for twelve years.

On account of the bitter feeling that existed toward the Mormons, the members were advised to dispose of their homes and emigrate to Utah where they could worship according to the dictates of their conscience without interruptions.

In 1852 they joined a company of Mormon immigrants under the leadership of Captain John B. Walker. While on their way across the plains, an epidemic of Black Cholera broke out among the emigrants and two of those afflicted were Isaac Bickmore and his mother, who died the same day and buried at Loop Fork on the Platte River. The remaining members of the family continued their journey on to Utah where they arrived in September 1852. They settled on Mill Creek, Salt Lake County.

In the fall of 1854, accompanied by families and friends, who had braved the hardship of the plains from Iowa to Utah, the family again left their home, founded and named Grantsville in Toole County, among the company were; Dan Burbands, John D. Walker, Benjamin Bear, Harrison Severe and Dr. Pope.

In the fall of 1855 at the age of eighteen years, young Isaac DanfordBickmore bade farewell to family and friends and accompanied by his friend, Perry Durfey, started on the long and then perilous journey to San Bernardino, California, where they arrived late the same year.

From 1856 to 1864 he enlisted in the Union Army as a California volunteer of the Cavalry and given the rank of Sergeant. At the close of the Civil War, he was honorably discharged after serving eighteen months.

A few months later he left California for Wellsville, Utah, where his mother lived. There he met Ellen Oldham who was destined to become his wife. After an acquaintance of nearly a year, they were married 31 December 1866.

The following year they moved to Paradise, Utah, where they secured land and built a home. Aside from farm work, the next few years he and his brother-in-law, Jacob Abott built and operated a saw-mill in which much of the lumber was made that was necessary to build the new town of Paradise.

In 1880, he sold his farm at Paradise and later that year he, his wife and family left Paradise for Kansas to visit his wife’s brothers, Thomas and John Oldham, whom they had not seen for fifteen years. They arrived in Cuba, Kansas, just before Christmas where they spent the remainder of the winter.

In April, after buying an outfit consisting of mules, horses, a wagon and buggy, he left Cuba, Kansas, and started for Texas; that being the plan outlined before leaving Utah. Arriving at Mears, Colorado, about the middle of June, he decided to stop for a time as he was offered employment for his fine team on the new railroad that was being constructed there. Two months later he left Mears, crossed over Marshall Pass to Gunnison where he again found employment for his team, intending late that fall to go on south to Texas.

After a few weeks spent at Gunnison, his wife and children left by rail for Utah. Their youngest son Thomas, a boy of ten months, died and a few weeks later his brother David died. About the same time, Isaac Danford himself, was stricken at Gunnison with typhoid-pneumonia. Broken in health and sorrowing for the lose of his child and favorite brother, he returned to Utah.

Through the influence of his wife and friends, he abandoned the idea of locating in Texas, and was induced to buy a farm adjoining the town site of Paradise where he lived from 1882 until 1905.

In the later years he sold his farm and bought a comfortable home in Logan, Utah, where two of his married daughters lived, Martha and Ellen, and settled down to enjoy with his wife the late years of their lives.

They were not destined, however, to enjoy the peace and quietude that they had contemplated. “King Death with His Reaper” stopped in once more and laid desolate all hope of unalloyed peace. On 5 January 1907, his wife of his joys and sorrows, who had stood by his side through storm and calm, lay dying surrounded by bereaved husband and family. The deep sorrow and mental anguish that he suffered is well depicted in the following few pathetic lines, composed by himself not long after her death.

“’TIS DONE”

I saw it in my dreams!
No more with hope and future beams.
Chilled by misfortune’s wintry blast,
My dream of life is overcast
Love - Hope - and joy alike, adieu!
Would that I could forget!
Add remembrance too.

After the death of his wife (the youngest of the children having reached manhood and left the paternal roof), he sold his home and went to live with his eldest daughter, Mrs. J. R. Thomas.

I will endeavor to describe him as I remember him at thirty-eight. He was of medium height, well-rounded and muscular, an athletic figure, which much exercise and out door life endows. His head was covered with jet black hair. His eyes were a deep hazel brown, which seemed to give shortness to his countenance. He wore a dark brown mustache and had a clean ruddy complexion. No one would hesitate, to say he was good looking. Although he was quick tempered, he had a genial, loving disposition.

I well remember how the children would gather round him while he told to them his wonderful stories and puzzling riddles; how his songs “The Old Gray Mare,” “In the Wilderness,” “John Brown,” would, when time for bed, coax for “just one more” although in truth there was very little music in his songs, for it was a much as he could do to sing a tune.

He as a man of high ideals with a keen sense of right and wrong. He was ever ready to acknowledge a fault or forgive a fault in others. He could always be depended upon to help in time of need. He was honest, truthful, generous, and is ever held in highest esteem by those who knew him. He had all the sterling qualities that make a manly man, and those who knew him will join me in saying that the world is better because he lived in it.

Isaac DanfordBickmore died 12 November 1920 at the home of his daughter, Mrs. James R. Thomas at Logan, Cache County, Utah. Funeral services were held 16 November 1920 at Paradise, Cache County, Utah, his home town and the residents turned out almost in mass to attend the service of their old friend and neighbor. The services were held under the direction of Bishop P.O. Hansen. The opening prayer was offered by the Stake President Joseph D. White. The speakers were Samuel Oldham, Orson Smith, A.A. Law and George C. Caste. All the speakers praised the departed for his many excellent traits of character he possessed, the goodly life he had lead, his service to his country and the fine family he had raised.

A violin solo was very beautifully given by Lowell McCann as was a vocal solo by Ms. Rachel Petersen. The ward choir was in attendance and furnished suitable selections. Elder P. Oldman pronounced the benediction. There were many beautiful floral offerings. Interment was in Paradise Cemetery. The grave was dedicated by J.H. Larsen.Submitted to the Daughters of the Utah Pioneers by Afton Clayson, March 1992, 456 N. 400 E., Brigham City, Utah 84302

Isaac DanfordBickmore was born September 24, 1838, in Brown County, Illinois; the third child in a family of seven. His father, Isaac Motor Bickmore, was born in Medum Cook, later to be renamed Friendship, the county of Knox, in the state of Maine, on June 6, 1797. He emigrated to Illinois in early manhood and soon after married Martha Harville, (spelled in various records as Harville, Harvil and Harvel) who had emigrated a few years earlier from her native state of North Carolina.

Martha Harville, born 4 June 1808, in Kainey, North Carolina, was the daughter of Squire James Harville and Mary Monette. Martha's parents owned a large farm where they grew maple trees. Each year the family would extract sugar maple from the trees and camp near the groves of trees while working the maple harvest.

Martha's family left North Carolina and moved to Brown County, Illinois. There she met and fell in love with Isaac Motor Bickmore whose family had recently relocated to Illinois. Isaac and Martha were the parents of seven children.

1. John Jackson Bickmore born 1829, Brown County, Illinois.

2. Martha Jane Bickmore born 24 January 1832, married Jacob Farnum Abbott, 9 January 1850.
3. Isaac DanfordBickmore born 24 September 1838, married Ellen Oldham, 1 January 1866.
4. Mary Ann Bickmore born 1 February 1840, married William Hardy, 17 July 1856.
5. Sarah Elizabeth Bickmore born 31 May 1842, married Francis Wilson Gunnell, 4 April 1859.
6. David Newman Bickmore born 1 August 1844, married Elizabeth McArthur, 13 January 1865.
7. Daniel Marion Bickmore born 10 March 1847, died about 1849.

Isaac Motor and Martha Bickmore settled on a farm, in comfortable circumstances, when Isaac Danford was born. Eight years later they sold their home in Illinois and relocated to Des Moines County, Iowa. Not being satisfied with the later place, they again moved to a farm in Potawatomie County, Iowa, where they resided for about three years. Here Martha HarvilleBickmore converted to the Mormon Church of which her husband had been a member twelve years.

Cross the Plains to Utah

Because of bitter feelings existing in that area towards the Mormons, LDS Church Leaders advised the members to dispose of their homes and emigrate to Utah where they could worship according to the dictates of their conscience. In 1852 they joined a company of Mormon emigrants under the leadership of Captain John Walker. While on their way across the plains an epidemic of Black Cholera broke out among the emigrants. Both afflicted with it, Isaac Motor Bickmore and his mother, Margaret Dicks Bickmore died the same day (July 6, 1852) and were buried at Loop Fork, Nebraska, on the Platte River.

When Isaac and Martha left Iowa, many of their brothers and sisters were in the same wagon company, but with the difficult times in Nebraska, some returned to Iowa. Their son, John Jackson Bickmore, returned to Iowa and Martha never encountered him again. Martha left Iowa with her earthly possessions in a wagon. With the aid of her son-in-law, Jacob Abbott, and her children, she was able to continue the journey to Salt Lake City without her beloved husband, Isaac Motor Bickmore.

They settled at Mill Creek, Salt Lake County, in the fall of 1854, accompanied by families and friends who braved the hardships of the plains from Iowa to Utah. However, the family again left their home, to found and to name the city of Grantsville in Tooele County. While in Grantsville, Martha married a widower, Timothy Parkinson, 0n 4 June 1856, in her forty-eighth year. In 1857 Martha and Timothy followed Peter Maughan to colonize Cache Valley, eighty-nine miles to the north and east of Grantsville.

Martha learned the art and practice of being a mid-wife from Jane Allan Leishman who had been a medical doctor in Scotland. She developed the skills and became an excellent practical nurse assisting Dr. Ormsby when he later came to Cache Valley. In Martha's day the common mode of transportation was by horse and buggy. Too slow for Martha, she simplified her approach by purchasing a black horse and rode it to the homes of the sick or expecting mothers. She spent a great deal of her time among the sick as doctors were scarce in Cache Valley in those times. Martha Bickmore Parkinson died on 26 October 1883, at the age of seventy-five and is buried in the Wellsville, Utah, cemetery.

California and the Union Army

Meanwhile in the fall of 1855, at the age of 17 years, young Isaac DanfordBickmore bade farewell to the family and friends. Accompanied by his friend, Perry Durfey, he started on the long and then perilous journey to San Bernardino, California, arriving later the same year. From 1856 to 1864, he worked at farming, mining and blacksmithing.

In December 4, 1864, Isaac D. Bickmore enlisted as a private in the Union Army in unit Company C of the California First Cavalry Battalion. At the close of the Civil War, he was honorably discharged as a sergeant, after serving eighteen months. He mustered out of the California Cavalry on April 2, 1866, in the Presido, San Francisco, California.

[Editor's note: The Civil War is a pivotal event in the history of the United States. Unfortunately few people realize that California played a role in that conflict. We include here quotes from historical accounts of the California First Native Cavalry Battalion. It gives insight about California, the Civil War, the landscape of the desert areas, and activities of the cavalry unit. We have no written record of Sergeant Isaac DanfordBickmore's experiences in the Union Army, so we describe general events of the California Cavalry of that era. Our intent is that the reader will appreciate and become acquainted with Isaac D. Bickmore through understanding the historical events which the cavalry experienced. On the hand-written enlistment record, he is listed as J. D. Bickmore rather than I. D. Bickmore.]

The first Battalion Cavalry was organized at large in California in March 1863. Company C was organized at Santa Barbara and ordered to Drum Barracks, District of Southern California until 1865. The Californians were noted for their expert horsemanship and the battalion rendered excellent service, commanded by the Department of the Pacific. Groups from the Battalion were stationed at various posts in the New Mexico territory and California.

Drum Barracks

Although the major Civil War engagements took place in the East, troops from Drum Barracks kept California in the Union, protected much of the Southwest, and secured the territory which is now Arizona and New Mexico for the Union.

Established as a five company post originally named Camp San Pedro in January 1862, and located one mile from Wilmington, now a part of Los Angeles, this post until December, 1863 called itself Camp Drum; it was thereafter designated as Drum Barracks. It was named by the War Department in honor of Lieutenant Colonel Richard Drum, assistant adjutant general of the Department of California. Drum Barracks served as the main staging, training and supply base for military operations in the Southwest, and occupied approximately sixty acres of land with an additional thirty-seven acres near the harbor.

When it was built, the Civil War was already being waged and the government considered California as a doubtful state on the question of slavery. The states northern half was about equally divided in its sympathies, but the southern half, particularly the area around Los Angeles, where at least 75 percent of the Americans had come from slave holding states, was strongly pro-secession.

It was determined that California must be held loyal to the Union. Captain (later Major General) Winfeld Scott Hancock was sent to Los Angeles to establish a quartermaster depot, ostensibly to have his troops fight the Indians. But there were no Indians in the urea. The government spent more than a million dollars on Drum Barracks, a very large sum of money then, which judiciously expended could buy an appreciable amount of allegiance. While most other California posts were simple adobe structures roofed with corrugated iron, Drum Barracks was entirely different. The elegance of its officers' quarters impressed the inhabitants of Los Angeles.

Camels came to Camp Drum as an almost final chapter in pre-Civil War experiment. Major Clarence E. Bennett, post commander, complained, "They had been kept at this post a long time on forago when in San Bernardino and various places within 100 miles of here they could have been subsisted without the expenditure of one cent for forage." He recommended the 36 camels at Drum be tested for service across the Mojave Desert and be shipped to Fort Mojave because
almost all grass at Drum was gone "and in little time the plains for miles and miles here will be perfectly bare." He advised they be carefully trained and tended by "an energetic officer whose conduct was characterized by sobriety and integrity. He blamed failure of previous camel use on the fact that government employees "regard service with camels extremely unpleasant." He said, "In appearance camels are extremely ugly, in gait very rough, in herding inclined to
wander, and with their long strides they make haste slowly, keeping their herders on the go; they offer no facilities for stealing." The idea was not approved and camels were auctioned off at Benicia Depot the next year.

Western Most Battle of the Civil War

When the Civil War began in 1861, the present state of Arizona was a part of the New Mexico Territory, which was declared part of the Confederacy. On April 13, 1862, Colonel (later Brigadier General) James Henry Carleton led an army of more than 2,000 California Volunteers from the post to begin the longest and most difficult march of the Civil war - from Camp Drum to the Rio Grande River in New Mexico, over 900 miles away. The mission was to drive invading Texan rebels out of the territories of Arizona and New Mexico. The soldiers walked during April to August" through the desert with 120-degree temperature in full uniforms.

His soldiers received a checklist of what they should bring. Each was to wear the "uniform hat without trimmings," a blouse, pair of trousers, pair of stockings, woolen shirt, pair of drawers, and "a cravat in lieu of the leather stock." In his knapsack he was to pack a greatcoat, blanket, forage cap, woolen shirt, pair of drawers, pair of stockings, towel, two handkerchiefs, "one fine and one coarse comb, one sewing kit, one piece of soap, one toothbrush," one fork, spoon, and plate. In addition, each was to have a canteen, haversack, tin cup and wear a good sheath knife.

They traveled in groups of 400 to conserve water. The men and horses, stayed in a series of forts spread out between here and the Rio Grande. By the time they arrived, the Confederates had already retreated, but the company fought 2 small battles on their way, Picacho Pass and Apache Pass. Union scouts ran into Confederates pickets at Picacho Pass. As a result of this skirmish, 3 Union soldiers were killed and 2 were wounded. One Confederate soldier was killed, 4 were wounded, 3 were taken prisoner and one escaped. This was the only time members of the "California Column" engaged Confederate troops, and is considered the Western most battle during the Civil War.

After the surrender at Appomattox, Californians from Camp Drum continued to soldier in the Southwest during the Indian Wars. The California cavalry units were recognized by the army commanders of the time as being among the best equipped and trained in the U. S. Army. Drum Barracks included the most important medical facility in the western states. The hospital at the camp, recognized as the best equipped and staffed medical facility west of the Mississippi River, was so vital that the facility was kept open for two additional years after the closure of the camp in 1871.

California is credited with providing 15,725 volunteers for her own units, plus five companies for the Massachusetts Cavalry and eight for the Washington Territory Infantry. Nevada provided 159 men for the California total and 1,158 for her own volunteer units. New Mexico sent an estimated 3,500 men to the war. Arizona Guards were formed under the Confederate occupation and were replaced by Arizona Rangers when the Union reestablished itself in the territory.

Back to Cache Valley

In April 1866, Isaac left California and traveled to Wellsville, Utah, where his mother lived. There he met Ellen Oldham, his future wife. After a courtship of nearly a year they were married on New Years Eve, December 31,1866. The following year they moved to Paradise, Utah, where they secured land and built a home. Aside from the farm work, the next few years he and his brother-in-law, Jacob Abbott Oldham, built. and operated a saw-mill in which much of the lumber was made to build the new town of Paradise."

Isaac Danford Bickmore and his brother, David Newman Bickmore, bought adjoining farms, and built homes near each other. For the next few years the two families settled down to the life of farming in Cache Valley. Since the Cavalry experience in California, however, Isaac Danford had the urge for travel and adventure. In 1880, he sold his farm at Paradise and later that year he, with his wife and family left Paradise, Utah, for Kansas to visit his wife's brothers, Thomas and John Oldham, whom they had not seen in fifteen years. But as the time approached to leave Paradise, Utah, both brothers, Isaac Danford and David Newman, had an overwhelming feeling of sadness as if they would never sec each other again. At this time Ellen and Isaac Danford had six children: Martha, Danford Jr., John, Ellen, Newman and Thomas. After making the difficult decision to move, to sell the farm and to transport eight people such a long way, the family anticipated a new and much better place to live. Ellen would have hben content to stay close to her family in Cache Valley, but Isaac Danford desired the new opportunity and a possible adventure.

Isaac and Ellen arrived at Cuba, Kansas, just before Christmas, where they spent the remainder of the winter. When the family arrived in Kansas, their disappointment proved great. ElIen's two brothers had greatly exaggerated their situations in Kansas, possibly because they so much wanted Ellen and Isaac Danford to be with them. The Bickmore family had given up the security of the farm in Cache Valley, closeness to family and found little to be excited about in Kansas. Food was scarce, often meal after meal would consist of potatoes and bread. The family made a mistake. Now Isaac Danford looked toward Texas as a possible new home.

In April, after buying an outfit consisting of mules, horses, a wagon and buggy, he left Cuba and started for Texas; that being the plan outlined before leaving Utah. Arriving at Mears, Colorado, about the middle of June, he decided to stop for a time as he was offered employment for his fine teams on the new railroad construction. Two months later he left Mears, crossed over Marshall pass to Gunnison where he again found employment, intending later that fall to go on south to Texas, destined, however, never to reach Texas. After a few weeks spent at Gunnison, Ellen Oldham Bickmore and the six children left by railroad for Utah, intending to meet her husband later in Texas, after he had finally decided on a permanent location.

Soon after her arrival in Utah, their youngest child, Thomas, a boy ten months old, died and a few weeks later Isaac Danford's younger brother, David, died on October 9, 1881. David left a wife and six children, two girls and four boys, the youngest a boy one year old. About the same time, Isaac Danford himself, was stricken at Gunnison with pneumonia. Broken in health and sorrowing for the loss of his child and his brother, Issac Danford returned to Utah.

Back to Paradise, Utah

Through the influence of his wife and friends, he abandoned the idea of locating in Texas, and bought a farm adjoining the town site of Paradise, where lived from 1882 until 1905. My father, Isaac Danford Bickmore, and Ellen Oldham were married on December 31, 1866, at Paradise, Cache County, Utah. To this union there were born five sons and three daughters. These children's names arc Martha, Danford, John, Ellen, Newman, Thomas, Elizabeth and William.
Thomas died when he was about one year old.

In his later years, Isaac sold his farm and bought. a comfort.able home in Logan where two of his married daughters, Martha and Ellen lived. He settled down to enjoy with his wife, the later years of their lives. They were not destined, however, to enjoy the peace and happiness that they contemplated. "King Death with his reaper" stepped in once more and laid desolate all hope of an unalloyed peace.

On January 5, 1907, the wife of his joys and sorrows, who stood by his side through the storm and calm, lay dying surrounded by the bereaved husband and family. The deep sorrow and mental anguish that he suffered is well depicted in the following few pathetic lines, composed by himself not long after:

'Tis Done!'

I saw it in my dreams!
No more with hope the future beams.
Chilled by misfortune's wintry blast,
My dream of life is overcast.
Love, hope, and joy alike, adieu!
Would that. I could forget!
Add- Remembrance, too.

After the death of his wife, and his youngest son having reached manhood, he sold his home in Logan, Utah, and lived with his eldest daughter, Mrs. Martha Maria Bickmore Thomas, wife of James R. Thomas.

I will endeavor to describe him as I remember him at thirty-eight. He was of medium height, well rounded and muscular, an athletic figure, which much exercise and out-door life endows. His head was covered with jet-black hair. His eyes, a deep hazel brown, seemed to give a softness to his countenance. He wore a dark brown mustache and had a clear ruddy complexion. No one would hesitate to say that he was good looking. Although he was quick tempered, he had a genial, loving disposition.

I well remember how the children would gather around him while he told them wonderful stories and puzzling riddles; how his songs, "The Old Grey Mare in the Wilderness," "John Brown," and "Old Dan Tucker" would amuse them; and how they would, when time for bed, coax for "just one more." In truth, there was very little music in his songs, for it was as much as he could do to sing a tune.

A man of high ideals with a keen sense of right and wrong, he was ever ready to acknowledge a fault or forgive a fault in others. He could always be depended upon to help in time of need. Honest, truthful, and generous, he was held in highest esteem by those who knew him. Possessing all the sterling qualities that make a manly man, those who knew him will join me in saying that the world is better because of him.

Obituary of Isaac Danford Bickmore

The subject of this sketch, Isaac Danford Bickmore, a Civil War Vetern, died on November 12, 1920, at the home of his daughter, Mrs. Martha Maria Bickmore Thomas, in Logan, Cache County, Utah. Funeral services were held November 16, 1920, at Paradise, Utah, his old home town. Interment was in the Paradise Cemetery. The grave was dedicated by Jacob Nelsen Larsen, husband of Ellcn Bickmorc Larscn.

Jacob Nelsen Larsen and Ellen Oldham Bickmore Their History and Legacy, August 23, 2003

Date of Death: 1920
Place of Death:
Date of Birth: 1838
Place of Birth:
Cemetery: City
Place of Burial: Paradise, Cache, Utah
Military Unit: Co C 1st Bn Calif Native Cav
Branch of Service: Army
War: Civil War

Isaac Danford married Ellen Oldham. Isaac was a Civil War soldier. John Bickmore, son of John, was a Revolutionary soldier. Joined January 1776 in Captain Fuller's Company. Served until January. Discharged for "sickness." Allowed pension April 28, 1818.Taken from Book of Remembrance in possession of Beth Schow Stagge.

Isaac served in the Civil War. He enlisted as a Sergeant on 4 December 1864 in Drum Barracks, California. He enlisted in Company C, 1st Battalion Native Cavalry Regiment California on 5 December 1864. He was mustered out on 02 April 1866 in Presidio, San Francisco, California.

"First Cavalry Battalion. -- Majs., Andreas Pica, Salvador Vallejo, John C. Cremony. The native Californians were noted for their expert horsemanship and it was believed that a battalion, entirely recruited from this element of the population, would render excellent service in Arizona. Gen. Wright, commanding the Department of the Pacific, accordingly asked and received permission to raise four companies of native cavalry in the Los Angeles district, during the winter of 1862-63.

"A good deal of delay was experienced in raising the men for the battalion. Recruiting began in Feb. 1863, but the first company was not filled and mustered into the U. S. service until Sept. 7, same year. The remaining three companies were mustered in during the spring and summer of 1864; Co. B. March 29, C, July 28, and D, March 3.

"Don Andreas Pico of Los Angeles, then brigadier-general of the 1st brigade of California militia, who was first commissioned major, declined the commission, whereupon Salvador Vallejo was commissioned major, but was not mustered until Aug. 13, 1864. Upon his resignation in Feb., 1865, Capt. John C. Cremony, of the 2nd CA Cavalry, who had rendered distinguished service with his company as a part of the California column, was commissioned major.

"The battalion was stationed at various posts in California until the summer of 1865, when it was taken by Maj. Cremony to Arizona and stationed at Fort Mason and Tubac in the southern part of that territory. The record of the battalion is somewhat impaired by reason of the unusually large number of desertions. More than 50 deserted from one company, and about 80 from another.

"Cos. A and D were mustered out at Drum Bbarracks, Cal., March 20, 1866, and B at the same place March 15, 1866. C was mustered out at the Presidio, San Francisco, July 28, 1866, and the field and staff officers, Aug. 25. Battles fought: 13 April 1865 at Green Valley, CA. "--American Civil War Regiments. Source: The Union Army, vol. 4, p. 418.

"Company "C" organized at Santa Barbara and ordered to Drum Barracks, District of Southern California, August 10, 1864, and duty there until May, 1865." --http://www.civilwararchive.com/Unreghst/uncacav.htm#1stbatcav

HISTORY: "Isaac Danford Bickmore was born September 24, 1838, in Brown County, Illinois; the third child in a family of seven. His father, Isaac Motor Bickmore was born in New Bedford, Maine, about the year 1798 (Isaac Motor was born 6 Jun 1798 in Meduncook (Friendship), Lincoln, Maine-BKT).

"Isaac Motor emigrated to Illinois in early manhood and soon after married Martha Harvel, who had emigrated from North Carolina, her native state, a few years previous. They settled on a farm and were in comfortable circumstances when Isaac Danford was born. Eight years later they sold their farm in Illinois and moved to Des Moines County, Iowa, but not being satisfied with the latter they again moved and located on a farm in Pottawattamie County where they resided about three years. Here Mrs. Bickmore was converted and became a member of the Mormon Church of which her husband had been a member for twelve years.

On account of the bitter feeling that existed toward the Mormons, the members were advised to dispose of their homes and emigrate to Utah where they could worship according to the dictates of their consciences without interruption. In 1852 they joined a company of Mormon emigrants under the leadership of Captain John B. Walker, leaving Kanesville, Iowa on 5 Jul 1852. While on their way across the plains an epidemic in the form of Black Cholera broke out among the emigrants and of those who were afflicted were Mr. Bickmore and his mother, Mrs. Bickmore, who died the same day and were buried at Loup Fork on the Platte River. The remaining members of the family continued their journey on to Utah where they arrived September, 1852. They settled on Mill Creek, Salt Lake County.

In the Fall of 1854, accompanied by families and friends, who had braved the hardships from Iowa to Utah, the family again left their home, founded and named Grantsville in Tooele County. Among the company were Dan Burbanks, John D. Walker, Benjamin Bear, Harrison Severe and Dr. Pope.
In the fall of 1855, at age of eighteen years, young Isaac D. Bickmore bade farewell to the family and friends and accompanied by his friend, Perry Durfey, started on the long and then perilous journey to San Bernardino, California, where they arrived late the same year. From 1856 until 1864 he was employed at farming, mining and blacksmithing. In 1864 he enlisted in the Union Army as a California Volunteer of Cavalry and was given the rank of Sergeant. At the close of the Civil War, he was honorably discharged after serving eighteen months. A few months later he left California for Wellsville, Utah, where his mother then lived. There he met Ellen Oldham, who was destined to become his wife. After an acquaintance of nearly a year they were married on New Years's Eve, 1866.

The following year they moved to Paradise, Utah, where they secured land and built a home. Aside from farm work, the next few years he and his brother-in-law, Jacob Abbott, built and operated a sawmill in which much of the lumber was made that was necessary to build the new town of Paradise. In 1880 he sold his farm at Paradise and late that year he, with his wife and family left Paradise for Kansas to visit his wife's brothers, Thomas and John Oldham, whom they had not seen for fifteen years. The arrived at Cuba, Kansas, just before Christmas, where they spent the remainder of the winter.

In April, after buying an outfit consisting of mules, horses, a wagon and buggy, he left Cuba and started for Texas; that being the plan outlined before leaving Utah. Arriving at Mears, Colorado, about the middle of June, he decided to stop for a time as he was offered employment for his fine teams on the new railroad that was being constructed there. Two months later he left Mears, crossed over Marshall Pass to Gunnison where he again found employment for his teams, intending later that Fall to go on South to Texas. He was destined never to reach Texas. After a few weeks spent in Gunnison, Mrs. Bickmore and the six children left by rail for Utah, intending to meet her husband later in Texas, after he had finally decided on a permanent location.

Soon after her arrival in Utah, their youngest child, Thomas, a boy ten months old died, and a few weeks later his brother David died. About the same time, Isaac D. himself was stricken at Gunnison with Typhoid-pneumonia. Broken in health and sorrowing for the loss of his child and favorite brother, he returned to Utah. Through the influence of his wife and friends he abandoned the idea of locating in Texas and was induced to buy a farm adjoining the town site of Paradise where he lived from 1882 until 1905. In the later year he sold his farm and bought a comfortable home in Logan where two of his married daughters, Martha and Ellen, lived and settled down to enjoy with his wife the later years of their lives. They were not destined, however, to enjoy the peace and quietude that they had contemplated. "King Death" with his reaper stepped in once more and laid desolate all hopes of unalloyed peace. On January 5, 1907, the wife of his joys and sorrows, who had stood by his side through storm and calm lay dying, surrounded by the bereaved husband and family. The deep sorrow and mental anguish that he suffered is well depicted in the following few pathetic lines, composed by himself not long after.

“Tis Done.”
I saw it in my dreams;
No more with hope and future beams.
Chilled my misfortune’s wintry blast,
My dream of life is overcast.
Love-Hope-and Joy alike, adieu;
Would that I could forget.
Add Remembrance too.

"After the death of his wife (the youngest of the children having reached manhood and left the paternal roof) he sold the home and went to live with his eldest daughter, Mrs. James R. Thomas.

"I will endeavor to describe him as I remember him at thirty-eight. He was of medium height, well rounded and muscular, an athletic figure, which much exercise and outdoor life endows. His head was covered with jet black hair. His eyes were a deep hazel brown, which seemed to give a softness to his countenance. He wore a dark brown mustache and had a clear ruddy complexion. No one would hesitate to say he was good looking. Although he was quick tempered, he had a genial loving disposition. I well remember how the children would gather round him while he told (to them) his wonderful stories and puzzling riddles; how his songs, “The Old Gray Mare in the Wilderness;” “John Brown” and “Old Dan Tuckers” would amuse them; and how they would, when bedtime came, coax for “just one more." He was honest, truthful, and generous and is ever held in highest esteem by all those who knew him. He had all the sterling qualities that make a manly man and those who know him will join with me in saying that the world is better because he has lived in it.

The subject of this sketch, one of the few surviving Civil War veterans, died November 16, 1920, at Paradise, Utah, his old home town and the residents turned out almost enmasse to attend the funeral of their old friend and neighbor. Services were held under the direction of Bishop P. O. Hansen. The opening prayer was offered by Stake President Joseph B. White. The speakers were Samuel Oldham, Orson Smith, A. A. Law, Geo. D. Casto. All the speakers praised the departed for the many excellent traits of character he possessed and the goodly life he had led, his service to his country and the fine family he had raised. A violin solo was very beautifully given by Lorell McCann, as was a vocal by Miss Rachel Peterson. The ward choir was in attendance and furnished suitable selections. Elder E. P. Oldham pronounced the benediction. There were many beautiful floral offerings. Interment was in the Paradise cemetery. The grave was dedicated by J. N. Larson."--Contributed by JoAnn Hall. Parts of the above may have been taken from "Jacob Nelson Larsen and Ellen Oldham Bickmore Their History and Legacy" copyrighted by Elmo A. Keller, Jr. 2003. See Online Collections at BYU
Family History Archive Bickmore.

In 1880 Isaac and Ellen were living close to the household of David N. and Elizabeth Bickmore, and John and Lorettee Abbott in Paradise, Cache, Utah.

In 1900 Isaac and Ellen were living in Paradise, Cache, Utah.

In 1910 Isaac, widowed, at age 72 and daughter, Ivy, at age 16 were living in the James and Martha Thomas household in Logan, Cache, Utah.

In 1920 he was living in the James and Martha Thomas household in Logan, Cache, Utah.